The United Front
by cynics-united.sarcasm-gifted
Summary: Bullied and scared, the first years band together to overcome the challenges that Hogwarts has brought. With the help of a confident, black-haired boy, Hogwarts will never be the same.


Disclaimer: I am sadly not a multi-billionaire genius who created Harry Potter. So says my bank account anyways.

Title: The United Front

Chapter 1: Breaking Tradition

Hogwarts, a place many call home. A place where magic permeates the air. A place so remarkable, sometimes even words fail to describe its magnificence. Majestic towers, grand staircases, large classrooms with windows overlooking the ever enticing outdoor grounds and the shady forest. A large lake centered between the forest and the clear grounds. A Quidditch stand stood on the opposite side of the European-styled Castle looking like a gladiator battlefield to the average muggleborn or any student with basic muggle sense.

Ah, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. A place that housed at least three hundred students and at least fifteen teachers including the esteemed Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. A place where tradition was upheld since the early days of Hogwarts under the reign of the four founders: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin.

These four were the reason for the prized house system of sorting students based on their personalities. The brave and chivalrous belonged in Gryffindor. The loyal and hardworking were placed in Hufflepuff. The brilliant and studious ones were placed in Ravenclaw. And the cunning and ambitious belonged in Slytherin. And the one to decide this was the age-old sorting hat blessed with magical powers from all four founders.

The Sorting hat, as it was usually called, was a revered piece of Hogwarts history and tradition. Its judgment was the basis to where students were sorted, the basis and beginning of a student's life at Hogwarts. And unfortunately, the beginning of a prejudiced system.

Although reveled beyond belief, due to the 'betrayal' of Salazar Slytherin or so they say, for we shall never know, house rivalries appeared throughout history as older students passed the information along like inheritance. And so Gryffindors banded together against the Slytherins. Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws kept to themselves in seclusion, siding with the others at various yet rare occasions. And riffs appeared.

But ever the condescending adults as teachers were, the staff at Hogwarts were always ignorant about any fight between houses whether innocent pranks or raging, dangerous duels, with only points being taken away as enough punishment or even a detention or two. Albus Dumbledore had been through the system and he survived. Merlin, all the teachers had gone through the system and survived so why shouldn't the students.

And it was this condescending attitude that was the beginning of a new era at Hogwarts. That, the Sorting Hat's advice and a raven-haired, green-eyed boy named Harry Potter.

A lean and rather tall, for his eleven years, boy stood at the platform leaning against the wall as he gracefully fixed the emerald green bandana around his head, ensuring his wild raven locks of hair were fixed away from his piercing green eyes as he surveyed his strange surroundings. He slid down the brick wall away from the majority of passengers on the matching brick-red train that resembled trains built fifty years ago with its ancient coal engines and stagnant air-ventilated compartments.

The boy fixed his black skinny jeans and tucked the hem into his newly-bought Converse sneakers which he adored. The skulls against the black background were simply divine. His tight black T-shirt emboldened the view of his well-defined chest and arms. A result of years of swimming. His tanned skin contrasted against the boy's hair and eyes, causing him to stand out and hence, was his position in the crook of wall where he was hidden from prying eyes, yet could see almost everything.

As the boy straightened up, a blonde aristocratic boy, dressed in a pair of tailored dress pants and a blue dress shirt stalked away from his hovering parents and ignored their farewell partings. The parents disappeared on the spot and the blond paused, controlling his feelings of anger and embarrassment while thanking Merlin no one saw his delightfully retarded parents. As though, the blond couldn't walk to the bloody train and sit in a compartment safely.

Rubbing his temples slightly, a glint caught the edge of his eyesight and lifted his gaze to see the raven-haired boy dressed all in black with silver chains hanging loosely around his pants. The blond pulled his trunk towards the boy in the hidden niche as the crowd of people threatened to swarm him. The boy had already seen the dreadful display made by his parents so what was the harm.

Upon reaching the boy, the blond reached out his hand as his formal education prompted, "Malfoy, Draco Malfoy. Are you also a first year?"

The boy released a slow smirk and shook the boy's hand, "My nickname is Alex. Just Alex and a first year as well."

The anger in Draco had already subsided and he decided upon a whim to subdue his curiosity on this 'Alex'. "Would you care to share a compartment with me? I rather have someone I know of than a complete stranger."

Alex nodded and the two boys walked in well-defined strides to the entrance of the train, laughing in lowered chuckles and smirking at each other as they acquainted themselves. This was the beginning of a beautiful friendship, and something Albus Dumbledore did not want.

Onlookers watched as the striking pair strode easily to the red billowing train with unadulterated ease, talking and laughing in a way that they, themselves, wanted to know what the conversation was about.

The boys seemed about the same height which was rather tall for their age but their looks could not differ more. One seemed dark-haired, tanned and brooding while the other was blonde, fair-skinned with an aristocratic face. They seemed so different yet gave off the same vibes.

Some could tell and some couldn't tell what those vibes were. It was not a sentiment most were accustomed feeling but those vibes gave off the sense of superiority. And it was this that decided their fate. And sadly for Albus Dumbledore, it was something else he did not want.

It was this so-called magnificent train that marked the beginning of the new era of Hogwarts. It was common knowledge that older students did not take well to younger generations, no matter the school, magical or not. And this would mark the downfall of tradition that Hogwarts prized so much.

Once again, the concept of sitting at the back of a moving vehicle which was saved for the 'cool' kids applied even in the magical world and the two first years strode to the back, taking the compartment with the balcony. Looking around the dreadfully ancient train whose interior had probably never changed in the last century or so, this had to be the only perk on the train and the two scoffed before settling into the worn seats facing each other.

"Are all wizards so backward?" asked Alex.

"At this point," Draco looked around the compartment and out the window looking at tearful parents who wouldn't release their children although they would be seeing them in at least three or four months, "I would have to defy the pureblood faction and say yes, wizards are indeed backward."

Alex smirked and grumbled, "God help me if the teachers are just as backward as my old school."

Draco seemed puzzled and intrigued, "So you are a mudblood then?"

"Actually, I am a half blood and Draco," Alex shook his head mockingly disappointed, "What is that dreadful language you use? And you call yourself a pureblood? Do you plan to kiss girls with a mouth like that?"

Draco at least had the decency to flush in embarrassment and argued hotly, "There is nothing wrong with using that word. My father said that-"

Alex cut in quietly, "Yes, Draco, your father said so. But what do you think about calling people that word? What do you know about muggles?"

Under Alex's sharp gaze, Draco had to admit that he knew almost next to nothing about muggles which Alex quickly rectified. And the train began its journey.

"So muggles actually built machines that could fly?" asked the skeptical blond.

"Yes, I am actually very interested in the dynamics of aeronautics. I have a book in my trunk about it. If I wasn't forced to come to this bloody school, I would have entered my third year at a foreign exchange school in America, hence the accent," Alex added as Draco's face cleared his confusion.

However as Alex stood to find his trunk, the compartment door opened with a rude snap as older students, still in their muggle attire, pushed themselves inside before waving their wands, causing the two boys and their trunks to be tossed out simultaneously. Landing unceremoniously on their asses, they heard the grunts and pleased chuckles of those inside before the lock snapped shut. "When will those little runts ever learn that the back compartments are ours?"

Alex and Draco shared dark looks as more first year students were kicked out of the back compartments leaving them nowhere but the front compartments that were served refreshments last, where the smoke billowed and blocked any scenery and lastly where the noise was unbearably annoying. This was bullshit.

First year students were naturally the most nervous and excited bunch, and so were their parents. Hence, the earliest students to board the train were usually the first years and of course, the back compartments would always seem the most appealing.

And Alex watched as more and more first years were crowding the hallway and the compartments slammed shut one after another with a decisive snap that caused the nerve on Alex's forehead to twitch in anger. Rising to his feet and helping Draco to his, he turned and met the gaze of a prefect if the badge on his chest had any merit to it.

"Well, what do you plan to do about this situation, Prefect?" asked Alex darkly, gathering the attention of the disgruntled first years, anger clearly written on their faces.

"I am terribly sorry but think of this as tradition. The front compartments are always taken by the first years and older students usually take the back ones. This is even happened back when I was a first year, but don't worry it'll get better by next year. This is like a… an initiation process. Yes, an initiation process." The prefect rambled on the honored tradition of Hogwarts but pissed off adolescents don't really give a shit, do they?

"So, are you telling us that there is nothing you can or will do but force us to go to the front compartments?" asked an incredulous Draco.

The prefect saw nothing wrong with this and continued his lecture with a large nod that caused the green-eyed boy to seethe in anger although carefully concealed in his mask of indifference. Turning to face the group, he mock-whispered to Draco, "This is so fucked-up. Hogwarts tradition, my ass."

The two knew that they were too inexperienced at magic to even try to pick a fight and walked off, unknowingly leading the group to the unwanted compartments. "And it has begun," grumbled Alex.

Now, this was the turning point. The previous years would have either bitched and complained while doing nothing (sorted into Gryffindor) or accepted it with a smile (Hufflepuff winners!) or accepted it once they had somewhere to read (studious Ravens) or said nothing (no need to waste our energy, right Slytherins). Some may have fought back but under the entire older generations including the teachers, their rebellions would have been stopped in the making due to fear or just cowardice.

But this year had a Mr. Harry Potter otherwise known as Alex and maybe it was years of neglect from his relatives, or the bullying from his cousin and teachers when he attended school in England (before his scholarship to America) or even the short period of bullying at his American school (look at the funny English kid, ha ha. Yes, fun times. Note sarcasm.), but Harry Potter wasn't going to take this shit again. He had learnt how to deal with this. And sadly Albus Dumbledore wasn't going to like this either.

The first years gathered to the front of the train and their pissed off and furious expressions could not wipe the slow smirk that spread along Alex's face. Before dividing into the empty and unpleasant compartments, Alex leant against the door facing to the crowd and spoke to Draco, ensuring the others could hear. Draco quickly caught on and so it began.

"Why the bloody hell did we have to move?" snarled the green-eyed boy fixing his bandana in place once more, "Haven't these idiots ever heard of first come, first serve."

"Just wait till my father hears about this. This is blatant disrespect, even if we are only first years. Tradition, my arse," snorted the aristocrat.

"That's their bloody excuse. Tradition," cried an indignant Irish boy. And the rebellion began.

"I did not know that the magical world tolerated this kind of behavior," sniffed a bushy-haired brunette with rather large front teeth.

"My entire family has gone here and they never said anything about this," agreed a red-haired boy who resembled the insufferable prefect from before, "Merlin, Percy is such an arse. Tradition. Ha, he could shove his tradition up his -"

The disgruntled first years swarmed their anger and Alex simply riled them up.

"And what about this House system? Why must we be separated when there are only thirty of us?" asked Alex with a hidden smirk.

"I read in Hogwarts a History that sorting us is a part of revered tradition." The bookworm brunette answered with a textbook answer.

"But wouldn't that promote rivalries amongst us? By separating us, wouldn't we be objecting ourselves to tradition? I've heard about the vicious rivalry between two of those Houses and I would rather not be involved in that sort of conflict," stated Alex in his matter-of-fact tone.

Many agreed and whispers and opinions floated around until a shy, timid and pudgy blonde boy spoke up, "Then why don't we not follow tradition. Let's not get sorted."

"While that may seem like the answer," spoke Draco over the excited and agreeing voices, "That would actually hinder progress." At Alex's thankful nod, Draco continued, "I believe that any possible previous rebellions were soon dispersed by teachers before they could even begin because they were too blatant."

Alex took over, "And therefore, the approach taken should be a subtle one." He smirked at the crowd darkly and the first years shivered with anticipation. Revenge and pride had crushed any sympathy or reluctance to a rebellion of any sorts. "We are going to be sorted to not cause any doubts but I am going to be frank. In all my years of education, students are taught by teachers. Everything, they learn, is from older teachers and older students who are also taught by those teachers."

"Students are bound by rules and justifications made by these teachers. Our education relies wholly on what they tell us. They control our school life so why didn't they control this rivalry from before. Because they are just as bigoted to their tradition," sneered Alex subtly.

"Their tradition means the world to them," and here Alex shared a slow smile that promised things, dark and satisfying, "and absolutely nothing to us."

"They have already corrupted the entire school into believing in their tradition as the compartment incident has shown us." Dark scowls littered the group. "So why are they trying to turn us against each other."

A smart-looking boy with glasses spoke up, "So that we wouldn't turn on them."

Draco released his dark smirk as he spoke, "And that's exactly what we're going to do."

Hagrid was the gamekeeper at Hogwarts for a countless number of years due to his giant blood than ran in his thick veins and was surprised at the new batch of students entering. The students seemed confident as they walked to his figure after he bellowed to the crowd, gathering the first years.

Hagrid led the students to the dark pathway that would eventually lead them to the docks to ride the boats. It was a thrilling experience to see the amazing Hogwarts castle from the lake. And the huge man hoped that they appreciated as much as he did.

However, the dreary September rains seemed to block the starless sky and obscured moon and only seemed to mark the beginning of a very, very bad night.

The Wizarding children approached the pathway and nervous chattering began. The clouds began to cry a soft drizzle which none really took on as their situation at hand was a bit worse.

"Is he out of his ever-loving mind?" cried a black boy as he uncomfortably pulled the cloak away from his body.

"I can't see where my feet are. Honestly, you would think wizards would have some common sense to install some lights, especially if the weather is like this." The brunette with wide teeth sniffed, "I am going to sue if I break any of my bones."

"Wait till my father hears about this utter rubbish. How hard is it to cast a few lighting spells?" sneered the Malfoy boy.

"Why are we being separated from the rest of the students?" cried another.

"Probably some initiation ritual. I read a book about the Dark Ages where they actually burnt wizards and witches on stakes."

"Do you think they'll burn us alive?" whimpered another.

"Nah, my brothers said something about wrestling a troll," said the red-headed boy.

"A troll, this school has a bloody troll? You have got to be shitting me," said the black boy nearly close to hysterics.

"But they are pranksters so it might just be kicks." The Weasley boy shrugged unconcernedly but his tense shoulders couldn't fool most.

"Everyone hold hands. Make sure that the order alternates genders. This will prevent anyone from falling down too badly and injuring themselves. I'll lead the group. Boys protect the girls. We have no idea what's out there. Girls, bear with our overbearing stature." As the brunette sniffed, "And no, we do not think you girls are weak. This is just extra protection," added Alex.

Quickly taking command and front position and grabbing a stoic girl's hand, he turned to face the group. Within seconds, the make-shift plan was in place. Hagrid stared at the children and a tear fell from his beady eyes as his little Harry Potter was already a commanding figure. "All righ'. Yeh lot need to follow me down this here path. Be careful, yeh heard." And without too much hassle, he stomped down the steep path which did not seem to make a difference to his large and heavy strides. And due to the utter darkness in the path, Hagrid only thought the children were following him and left without preamble.

What the fuck, thought Alex as he took the first step almost sliding down the path as he tripped on the uselessly hindering robes they were forced to put on.

"Alex," cried the children. "You okay?"

Gritting his teeth and swearing under his breath. "Firstly, these robes will make us trip. Secondly, the drizzle has caused the path to be slippery so we can't walk without slipping. Thirdly, anyone here opposed to getting dirty?"

When they all denied the claim and a blonde witch scoffed, "I rather live than worry about a little dirt," they all agreed as they listened to Alex's plan. The group quickly scattered and regrouped into pairs. The boys took off their robes and the group lined up in pairs made of a boy and a girl.

Alex then instructed a muggleborn pair to imagine a roller coaster crossed with sleighing or blindfolded snowboarding and the black boy named Dean Thomas and the brunette bookworm called Hermione Granger took first position. Dean's cloak rested on the platform before the drop or pathway as these people called it. Alex showed the surrounding students quickly how to maneuver the cloak or makeshift sled.

"Alex, how about we use these hats as cushions?" asked Hermione.

"Yeah, I don't want to have a sore arse in the morning," said a brown-haired boy who seemed pained.

"Had experience with that, Ernie?" chuckled Justin. Laughter seemed to drown and conquer the nervousness of the group.

"Good idea Hermione. Okay. Ready, Dean, Hermione," asked Alex.

"Yes," they both confirmed calming their nerves and preparing mentally for the ride.

"Okay, on three. One, two, three," counted Alex as he then pushed Hermione's back as she clung to the boy holding the edges of the cloak at the front. Their initial terror-filled screams soon melted to excited squeals and laughing as the above clouds rumbled, effectively preventing Hagrid from hearing as he waited at the bottom of the path for the lagging children.

He was shocked when two children came sliding on a piece of cloth laughing and they hung together to prevent falling off. The two tumbled off from the sudden halt, and ran to end of the path, before calling out, "It's safe."

Hagrid could not believe his sight as the children came sliding down the path in twos, all laughing and giggling, still all high from the adrenaline rush. And the last pair, Harry Potter and a pretty brunette were flying past the rest before he expertly turned the cloak and stopped in a smooth move. The stoic beauty was laughing alongside the bandana-clad boy before the children surrounded him and began chattering.

"That was so much fun, Alex."

"Better than walking too."

"Hope I can feel my arse in the morning," joked a brown-haired boy before Hagrid had a grip on his bearings and decided to take the safe approach and ignore what the children just did.

The children were all laughing when Hagrid interrupted, "Um-well- glad to see yeh lot. Though' yeh go' los' or sum'ting. Bu' c'mon, we have to climb into the boa's them." Here, Hagrid waved his broad arms to show faintly seen structures of some small rickety boats.

To the first years, the barely visible rickety wooden boats that seemed too small for them, even if they were first years, were just depressing. The boats – if you could call something that small a boat – seemed to rock and sway in the drizzle that was picking up. And maybe it was the approaching storm, but the boats seemed a little better.

"Four to a boa'" called the half-giant as he approached his much larger boat.

"Oh fuck no," stated a tiny blonde girl named Tracey Davis. Her partner, a good looking Egyptian boy called Blaise Zabini seemed to agree. Most seemed to agree with the sentiment, including Alex although he kept quiet.

However, the grumblings came to a stop as the thunder and lightning overhead boomed and lighted the once dark place.

Alex took charge again as he wanted to get out of the cold and out of this dreadful nightmare. "Okay, we all know this is bullshit." At the agreeing nods, he continued. "But the sooner we climb into these-" he glanced scornfully at the boats, "-the sooner we can get out of this rain and into the warmth."

Albeit, reluctantly they nodded again and gathered their partners and another pair and climbed the boats in quick steps. The boys placed their cloaks on the wet seats allowing the girls to keep dry and for them not to all freeze to death. The girls pulled off their cloaks and used it to cover themselves and their partners to conserve the body heat. No one cared for embarrassment at this point. Only survival… and possibly a meal.

Once again, Alex and Draco entered the boat last with the stoic brunette, Daphne Greengrass and Draco's partner, an outgoing and very opinionated muggleborn named Mandy Brocklehurst who distracted themselves in a discussion about electricity and muggle hair products that had started from the beginning of the path.

The boats were all crowded together along the murky, black and dreary waters that tossed and turned in the freezing winds. The students huddled together for warmth but no one, not even these disastrous weather conditions can stop the angry mutterings of cold and hungry adolescents after an adrenaline rush.

"Seriously, what a way to start off school! I am hungry and freezing my arse off," grumbled Ron Weasley loudly.

"I know. It's raining and they make us take the boats. Honestly, are they really in need of that much common sense? What if we get sick?" cried the indignant Hermione.

"Well, I am skipping classes," said Ernie in a matter-of-fact tone.

"I am sleeping in tomorrow. Do they really expect us to have classes after this disastrous journey?" asked the exhausted Pansy Parkinson. Gregory Goyle and Vincent Crabbe mainly grunted in agreement before lightning struck, causing the students to jump.

As the boats rocked violently to the right as they turned, the students leaned all their weight to the left in an attempt to prevent the boats form capsizing and Hagrid boomed, "And the'e's Hogwar's."

Maybe it was just the Gods above fucking with them, but at this moment, the clouds decided to rumble menacingly and the lightning flashed dangerously enlightening the castle in a scary manner as bats and other winged creatures flew away from the castle. The castle looked uninviting and cold and just plain scary. The students sat dumbfounded for at least a minute before Draco stated what everyone was thinking, "No. Just no. Oh hell, mother fucking no."

"This is bullshit. All this torture to go there," Dean spat bitterly.

"This has got to be some sick joke."

Hagrid looked shocked as the students began angrily complaining. Normally, students were awed at the sight of Hogwarts. But maybe it was just the new hype, thought the naïve Hagrid. Yeah, masking their feelings to be cool; that had to be it. Hagrid chuckled, which only served to fuel the fear threatening to overcome the students.

"Oh Merlin, they're gonna really kill us," screamed the paranoid child of Hannah Abbott as tears and raindrops mixed on her face.

Panic issued as the students couldn't escape off the boats but did not want to go near the castle. But it only got worse. The shivering and extremely scared Neville Longbottom saw a tentacle poke out of the black water where he screamed and attracted the attention of all the first years. The tendon rose a good twenty feet before slithering back into the water.

The first years sunk into a disturbingly quiet silence while Hagrid chuckled and said, "Oh tha's jus' the gian' squid tha' lives he'e." If he thought this would reassure the students, he was deadly wrong. Hopefully he didn't bet anything important on that sentiment.

Chaos and pandemonium condensed. Some students like Longbottom screamed and cried, scared shitless. Others like Ron Weasley grew angry.

"Just a fucking Giant Squid, he says," mocked Ron.

"This is so messed-up," cried the fashionable Parvati Patil as she and her friend Lavender Brown looked at their ruined and soaked robes.

"What the hell is a squid doing at a school?"

"Who the fuck cares?" says Tracey as she huddled against her larger partner, Blaise. "How the hell do we get off?"

"Ask the oaf," said Ernie. He had given up being nice to the man who apparently took pleasure in their panic as he spotted the smile on the man's face on sight of the Squid.

"Oi. How much longer is the fucking boat ride to hell?" cried Seamus Finnegan in his rough Irish manner.

Hagrid looked shocked at the angry faces and violent language but he was still deluding himself with his previous theory about the new hype and chuckled again, not knowing that the children grew to hate him even more. "Only 'bou' two mor' minu'es."

"Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck," chanted a few as they thought about what this new 'hell' was going to be like if the journey was this horrible. But at least one thing happened; the children would rather enter the scary-ass building than stay here with the even scarier-ass squid.

Amongst the confusion and cries, only Alex and Draco remained calm with a stoic Daphne and nervous Mandy as their companions. Alex spoke over the distant thunder and the murmurings paused. So far, Alex had taken charge and guided them, which was more than the oaf who sat there smiling stupidly had done for them.

"We exit the boat quickly and quietly and see that shelter there-" Alex pointed to the eave above a huge pair of doors, "-we huddle there and wait. If no one comes, I have a back-up plan." Of course this was untrue, but it calmed the soon-to-be hysterical children and they straightened up. The plan from the train was going to begin.

As the boats came to stop, the students exited solemnly and quickly grabbing their dirty cloaks and limp hats. The intimidating door stood under a glaring light that the students reveled in for its heat. The shivers stopped as Alex and Draco rounded the back. Just the presence the two gave off, made the group feel safer and soon they all looked like eager school children albeit dirty and disheveled but they could blame the rain.

The giant fist pounded once on the door and they swung forward revealing a stern witch that put simply, looked like she had a couple wands stuck up her-

Ron whispered to Hermione in quiet tones that the students could still hear, while the teacher who led them away could not, "Who stuck her wand up her arse?" The students stifled their laughter and moved into the thankfully warm hallway outside of the larger room where they could hear the rest of the school.

The teacher, who introduced herself in a matching firm tone as Professor McGonagall, quickly departed to finish some business after sniffing distastefully at their appearance.

And Alex took the chance to cement the beliefs.

"So far, we've basically been on our own. And how have we done by and handled the situations that keep hitting us by surprise?" asked Alex in a quiet solemn voice.

And it was the quiet and shy Hannah who replied in a fierce voice, "We kicked ass." Everyone stared at Hannah before she flushed and they all laughed and agreed.

"Can't deny that," drawled Draco.

"We're in this together. No matter which house we are separated into, just remember this night. We all came together and conquered all the shit that they threw against us." Quiet cheers emanated from the group. Even the stoic and quiet and even uninterested ones could nod and smile in acceptance. "Screw rules and especially tradition." Alex smirked at Draco in the end as the students repeated his sentiment.

And seconds before Professor McGonagall returned and called for them, Alex flashed a mischievous grin before saying quite guiltily, "Oh and by the way, my nickname is Alex which I insist you call me," he shot a mock glare at the group before continuing, "but my birth name is Harry Potter."

Alex, or Harry Potter, turned to McGonagall before leading the stunned first years through the large doors that led to the Great Hall.

Shocked and stunned beyond belief, the first years walked into the Great Hall without a flicker of wonder or even surprise at the seemingly floating candles or the magnificence roofless ceiling. This should have been the first hint to the teachers but they chalked it up to the rain and that the students were too shocked to be awed by the pure majestic walls of Hogwarts.

But the thoughts that raced through their minds were nothing that they thought.

_That was Harry Potter_, thought Ron Weasley.

_Alex was Harry Potter_, thought Draco Malfoy before his gut feelings told him that he should have known before.

_Harry Potter as in the Boy-who-lived. Harry Potter who led them safely across the lake. Harry was Alex._

But when it came down to the hard facts, they could not deny that Harry or Alex as he preferred, spoke only the truth as seen so far on their journey to this hellhole. Their experience, whether they call it horrible or scarring, taught them to trust each other, regardless of being in a different house and would also apply to Harry Potter' fame.

All the students, whether Gryffindor or Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw or even Slytherin material, agreed in one thing. Screw rules. Screw tradition. And Harry-no -Alex taught them that. It was time.

As their thoughts had finally calmed and they noticed the Hall, they were now slowly growing so accustomed to surprises and mentally as well as physically too tired to really show the appreciation and awe at the decorations. They lined up and as Alex passed a few, they shot him reassuring smiles which he returned.

Draco Malfoy stood next to his friend, and simply raised a defined eyebrow at his declaration earlier before whispering, "And you couldn't tell me before?" The two boys smirked at each other and stood together. Whispers finally started from the first years as they discussed the Hogwarts castle so far. Now, remember, these disgruntled children were not going to be sympathetic to the castle after the night they had experienced already.

"God, could they get any tackier? Were those metal armors?"

"I thought they looked rusty."

"Were those cobwebbing hanging around the mouth pieces? They couldn't clean it."

"This castle is filthy. My robe touched the wall and came back filled with grime."

"Oh no, I didn't bring my allergy medicine? Did anyone?"

"Yeah, I have in my trunk."

"Doesn't this place give off a musty smell?"

"I wonder how they'll sort us."

"Merlin, what else could they throw at us?"

"After tonight, I'm ready for anything."

"Yeah, wonder if we'll have to fight the troll."

"You know what. I think I'm ready for that too."

"How?"

"The fastest runners among us stall the teachers and students and the rest of us run like hell and steal the boats. The runners would catch us and we are getting the hell out of here. Fuck them. Let's see them face a troll."

Stifled laughter soon disappeared as McGonagall pulled a stool and a hat out of somewhere- don't really want to know- and placed it in reverence on the three legged stool. And if the night couldn't get any weirder, it did.

The hat opened its mouth or brim and began to sing. Yes, sing. The hat sang a song. And the first years were already this close-holds up two fingers a centimeter away- to packing up and leaving. As the students cheered, the first years could do nothing to hide their disbelieving look which the rest of the school mistook for looks of awe. And the sorting began.

The first years were quickly sorted into the various houses stopping at certain individuals and taking at least five minutes to sort them. The controversy began at a Mr. Harry Potter.

"Potter, Harry." McGonagall's voice was grating annoyingly on the boy who detested attention but the indifferent look on his face and easy stance fooled his irritation. His easy strides towards the stool and hat alerted the student body that the boy with the green bandana was Harry Potter.

"Mr. Potter, take that ridiculous piece of cloth from your head," McGonagall spoke with distain.

Harry Potter wordlessly took his bandana off revealing his lightning bolt scar and after placing the hat on his head, the Hall held their breaths and gossip for at least ten minutes, the longest Sorting so far.

With a snicker, the hat shouted, "Slytherin." And with a softer tone than only a few heard, "Have fun!"

Harry smirked and walked to meet his fellow Slytherins where the Sorting continued. By the end, most of the predictions were met at House sorting except a Harry Potter who was supposed to be a Gryffindor.

Only the cheerful applause from his fellow first years were heard which he gracefully accepted, fixed his bandana and sat next to Draco and opposite to Daphne who bowed her head slightly in his direction.

The Headmaster mashed his doubts and suspicion to seem unaffected like the rest and nodded to McGonagall who finished the sorting.

And Harry Potter in Slytherin was something Albus Dumbledore did not want.

"… Nitwit! Blubber!" finished the eccentric headmaster with a wave of his arms and suddenly food appeared on the tables. And the feast began.

At the Gryffindor table, the older students decided to acquaint themselves with the newbies and surrounded Ron Weasley, Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnegan, Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown, only to hear their grumbling.

"God dammit! Couldn't the old man give some warning? My elbows were on the table and are now covered in gravy!" said the black boy, Dean.

"I know what you mean," said a breathless Lavender as she held her heart that beat uncontrollably.

"And what kind of speech is that?" scoffed the Indian girl. "We didn't even give thanks to the Gods. This meal is unblessed. Give me your hands."

And the Gryffindors watched as the five new Gryffindors joined hands and the Indian girl said a quick prayer. After the unified 'Amen', the five began to pull the food towards themselves and eat. Ron stretched his hand in the air and continued. Upon feeling the eyes on their backs, the irritated and hungry Ron Weasley spat after clearing his throat with pumpkin juice, "What are you lot bloody looking at? Never saw someone eat before."

The hostile first years knew that these older students did nothing to help them on the train but locked their compartments so why should they even associate themselves with these backstabbers. The five knew they were in this together. Screw everyone else.

At the glares and vicious stabbing of food in their plates, the older students decided to back off for now until one idiot spoke up, "What the hell is your problem, shorties?"

The glares kicked up a notch but they just purposefully ignored the foolish boy and began a conversation on the food.

"This is surprisingly good."

"I know but my ma's cooking still beats it."

"Yeah, but guess we have to suck it up till Christmas."

The steaming older boy was grabbed and hauled down the table away from the secluded first years before any fights broke out.

At the Hufflepuff table, the new members were equally secluded at the one end of the table where they calmed their racing hearts as food had suddenly appeared before them.

"Merlin," cried Ernie Macmillan at his fellow Hufflepuffs: Neville Longbottom, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Hannah Abbott and Susan Bones.

Frustrated tears leaked out of the girls' eyes as they glared at the food. "Anything else they want to scare us with."

"I am so tired of this. I just want to sleep."

"You think it's safe to eat the food?" asked a solemn and totally serious Neville.

"Ron just gave a thumbs up. Guess it's safe for now." Here, Ernie released an exaggeratedly long yawn raising his arms over his head.

The exhausted Hufflepuffs pulled the food towards them as the older female students approached. Their muscles tensed and their backs turned rigid. They were ready.

"Hello, are you the new Hufflepuffs?" asked a smiling blonde witch.

Justin bitterly spat out, "No shit. Did you not just see us get sorted?"

The others did not even raise their heads and continued to eat and talk amongst themselves. The older students looked puzzled and a bit offended. "Um, excuse me, but have I done something to you?"

At this, the five first years lifted their heads and glared with all the built-up resentment. And the shyest and most timid Susan spoke, "That's just it. You did nothing."

The cold looks sent shivers down the girls' backs and they quickly hurried away. The Hufflepuffs smiled at one another before discussing the next day.

"I said it before and I stick by my word. I am not getting up before noon," grumbled Ernie and they all laughed as the tension slipped away.

At the Ravenclaw table, the newly sorted students gazed suspiciously at the food wondering how exactly it appeared before them, who prepared the dishes and most importantly, was it safe to eat.

Hermione looked at her fellow Ravenclaws: Terry Boot, Padma Patil, Mandy Brocklehurst and Tracey Davis. "Well, if anything happens, our only man here will protect us, right Terry?" simpered Tracey in a flirtatious voice while batting her blonde eyelashes over-exaggeratedly.

The girls laughed and giggled as Terry looked at them exasperatedly. "Do you think the ceiling is really absent?"

"No, I read in Hogwarts a History that it's an illusion," recited Hermione.

"Yeah, and don't forget outside is storming." Mandy cast the solemn presence in the air again.

"How could we forget," said Terry.

"This was a disastrous night. Teachers were supposed to protect us but we had to fend for ourselves," said a disgruntled Tracey.

"But it was pretty fun. Some parts though," came the thoughtful quip from Hermione remembering the slide.

"You know what would be really useful? We should begin a study group looking up facts and useful magic we could use in dangerous situations like that again. For surely, we would come across it again in this hellhole." Padma's eyebrows came together as her thoughts assembled. "We could get everyone to work in groups and research different things so we would be better off."

"That's good, we'll discuss this with Alex later." At Alex's name, the group grinned widely. "Who knew we would befriend Harry Potter while facing dangers tonight?" Terry smirked.

"Terry, please don't smirk." Exasperatedly the girls teased the geeky boy. "Save it for someone like Alex or Draco. They could pull it off. Not you. Go for the nerdy shy smiles." The girls giggled as they showed him some examples of his perfect smile.

Through the teasing and laughter, none really paid attention to the older students coming their way. In fact, even when they were introducing themselves, the group did not even bat an eyelash in their direction, carrying on with their teasing and laughter. Giving up, the older students just walked away grumbling under their breath about rude first years.

"Oh look. Ernie gave the signal. It's safe to eat," said Hermione as she dropped her hat on the floor and leant to pick it up.

"And we say prayers," said the firm Indian girl. Her beliefs were not questioned as they clasped their hands together and said their peace.

"So about that study group…"

At the Slytherin table, there was the natural hierarchy structure… well natural for the ambitious and cunning. Slytherins were creatures who probably even created the saying, _survival of the fittest_ but had certain rules. The oldest students sat at the farthest end of the table from the Headmaster while the newest members sat the closest.

As Alex or Harry Potter and his fellow classmates: Draco Malfoy, Daphne Greengrass, Blaise Zabini , Pansy Parkinson and the two imbeciles: Gregory Goyle and Vincent Crabbe (who just sat hungrily and on the verge of sleep), sat quietly, they observed.

Every Slytherin had their hands folded in their laps, no one spoke during sorting yet conversations took place, non-verbal conversations. It really was a unique experience as the students waited for something that was going to happen. A slip of paper made its way down the table to the first year students. It read:

_Welcome to Slytherin. Follow the line of snakes after the feast. Password: Parselmouth. This note will self-vanish in thirty seconds. The head of house will give you directions._

Dishes of elaborate food choices suddenly appeared on the table and not a single snake showed surprise although, internally was a different matter. The manners of the older Slytherins finally made sense and Alex knew it was best to just follow this crowd… for now.

And like the note stated, the paper vanished into thin air, strand by strand, unnoticeable to anyone but the holder and the closest whose eyes were fixed on the reader. Said Alex smirked and spoke to the two bulky members, "Eat. The food's safe, for now." Crabbe and Goyle lost no time as they horded food onto their plates and grunted in pleasure as the hot food passed down their greedy throats.

Alex passed a barely-hidden disgusting look at Draco before the blonde replied flippantly, "Dumb as stone but they make good bodyguards."

Alex shrugged his shoulders and the rest of the snakes gathered food onto their golden plates rather dignifiedly before using impeccable table manners taught by strict parents or tutors (especially those boarding school pricks, thought Alex), reinforced into their way of life. Unconsciously, they spoke in hushed conversation, left to their own devices while Alex and Draco monitored the situations at the other tables, seeing as their seating arrangement was ideal for spying… looking, yes looking.

"Damn, remind me never to piss off a hungry Weasley," muttered the blond as he watched Ron stab his chicken roughly.

"Miss Abbott, look out for Miss Abbott, she just scared the older girls." Alex smirked before adding, "And I think the Raven girls are planning something. I think it has something to do with studying," groaned the green-eyed boy.

"Well, revenge is a dish served best cold."

"Hope the crazy old pedophile doesn't notice anything yet."

"Man, this is fun Alex. I can't wait for tomorrow."

"Me neither, Draco. Me neither." A dark grin stretched upon his thin lips before sipping a cold sip of grape juice. Yes, the drink of evil masterminds and scheming children…

Let the fun, fun games begin.

A.N. Well this one has been a work in progress for the longest while. Hope you guys enjoy it. It was hilarious to write it. I'll try to start work on the next chapter soon.

- C_U


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